Title:
Buried
Appearances
Author:
D.E.
Haggerty
Release
date: November
4th,
2013
Genre:
Contemporary
Book Description:
Skylar
Dewitt has been ostracized her entire life due to her grandfather’s
well-known sympathies with the Nazis. But now her grandfather’s
body has been recovered in the Netherlands in an area famous for
being a Nazi killing ground. Why would her grandfather be buried in a
place legendary for assassinations of resistance members? Skylar jets
off to Holland in search of answers about her grandfather’s demise.
Along the way she finds long-lost family and old friends but will she
solve the mystery of what happened to her grandfather? And maybe she
discovers something more valuable than resolving any mystery could
be: herself
My Review ~ 4 Stars!
* Bookends received a free e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review *
Buried Appearances is the story of Skylar Dewitt. A young woman all
alone in the world with the exception of her best, and only, friend
Andy. Skylar's grandmother, Oma, immigrated to the United States from
the Netherlands when Skylar's father was very young. Oma's husband Joost
was a suspected Nazi sympathizer and life in Holland was very difficult
at that time for the family of Nazi sympathizers. Oma tried her best to
start over fresh in America and put her family's past behind them and
for a while her family did prosper. Oma made friends in her community.
She raised her son in peace and he grew up and married and had a child
of his own, Skylar. But when a picture of Joost in his Nazi uniform was
published in the local paper, the whole town (with the exception of a
scarce few) turned their back on the Dewitts. Skylar's mother couldn't
take the ostracism so she packed up and left and Skylar's father turned
to alcohol which eventually led to his suicide leaving Skylar to be
raised by the only family she had left, Oma. Skylar's childhood was
anything but easy with the constant bullying and adulthood wasn't much
better, especially without Oma to turn to. When a letter comes in the
mail from Holland raising new questions about Joost's disappearance and
who he was loyal to, Skylar hops on a plane to uncover the truth and
clear her family's name.
I thought this book started off a
little shaky with some unnecessary bad language and a whole lot of talk
about coffee but soon enough the author hit a stride and had me hooked. I
loved all of the history that the author managed to add to this book.
Instead of taking away from the story like you might expect it would, it
took it to a whole other level and made it that much better. The
characters were well written and the storyline flowed nicely. I really
loved Skylar's spirit and tenacity in this book, the relationships the
author formed among the characters weren't overdone, and there was just
the right amount of mystery and intrigue to keep you flipping pages
until the very end.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book
and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good whodunit with a
spunky/feisty heroine and a healthy dose of history. Very well done!
About
the Author:
I
was born and raised in Wisconsin but think I’m a European (a cloggy
to be exact). After spending my senior year of high school in
Germany, I developed a bad case of wanderlust that is yet to be
cured. After high school I returned to the U.S. to go to college
ending up with a Bachelor’s degree in History at the tender age of
20 while still managing to spend time bouncing back and forth to
Europe during my vacations (oh the benefits of a long-distance
relationship). Unable to find a job after college and still suffering
from wanderlust, I joined the U.S. Army as a Military Policewoman for
5 years (the Peace Corps was too much paperwork). While stationed in
Heidelberg, Germany, I met my future husband, a flying Dutchman
(literally). After being given my freedom from the Army, I went off
to law school. I finished law school and moved to the Netherlands
with my husband and became a commercial lawyer for more than a
decade. During a six month break from the lawyering world, I wrote
Unforeseen Consequences. Although I finished the book, I went back to
the law until I could no longer take it and upped stakes and moved to
Germany to start a B&B. Three years after starting the B&B, I
got the itch to try something else and decided to pull the manuscript
for Unforeseen Consequences out of the attic and get it published as
an e-book. Between tennis, running, traveling, singing off tune,
reading, playing part-time lawyer and running the B&B, I’m
working on my 3rd book.
Official
Website: http://www.dehaggerty.com
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Thanks for hosting my blog tour today. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!
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